Les Bowen

STAFF WRITER

Les Bowen has covered the Eagles since 2002. Before that, he covered the Flyers for 13 years. He came to the Daily News from the Charlotte Observer in May 1983, just as the Sixers were winning the NBA championship. He thought, "Gosh, this sort of thing must happen all the time here."

INDIANAPOLIS -- NFL Network draft analyst Mike Mayock wrapped up the media portion of the 2012 Scouting Combine with a news conference Sunday evening. Mayock was asked about several prospects who brought off-the-field baggage to Indianapolis - most prominently, North Alabama corner Janoris Jenkins, who confessed to having four children, an arrest record and a failed drug test.

As Mayock noted, the prospects have all been coached to say the right thing to teams interviewing them - they talk about having grown up. But he went on to say, the nub of the issue is how much you "buy into" their explanations and apologies.

"There's all kinds of different red flags - medical, off-the-field. What's interesting to me is how different teams treat those red flags. There's no one uniform way ... for the next two months (such players) are going to get asked 90 gazillion questions. It's all public, it's all out there, teams know more than we do. You've gotta look these guys in the eye and have all the right answers. Most importantly, convince them it's not gonna happen again," Mayock said.

"So they're all going to say the same thing. 'I've grown up, I'm sorry.' Do you buy into that? And at what level? Here's the key, just like medical, at what level do you buy in? At a first-round price? Second-round price? Fourth-round price? Every team's different that way. I already know some teams that have certain players off the board ... 'I'm not dealing with that player, for this reason,' whether it's medical or off-the-field. Some teams say, 'That's a first-round pick, I don't care.' Other teams say, 'He's off the board.' And then there are a bunch of teams in the middle somewhere."

A few other Mayock morsels:

*After watching the quarterbacks work out, Mayock is even more certain that Andrew Luck and Robert Griffin III are the top-two picks. "I would be stunned if these two kids didn't go one and two ... and then, (Texas A&M's Ryan) Tannehill might go in the Top 10" after he completely recovers from a broken foot and is able to work out.

*Mayock was impressed with Georgia Tech WR Stephen Hill, whose 4.36 40 was the start of a strong day. "Stephen Hill killed it. I had a bunch of scouts tell me before the combine, this kid might blow the roof off of it, and he did," Mayock said. "The tough thing about Stephen Hill is, coming out of that option offense, he's hard to evaluate. We went through this with Demaryius Thomas (now of Denver) ... because you don't see real routes, all you see are verticals and crosses and play action and jump balls. You've got to do your homework with this kid, and trust me, he's pushed himself right up in the forefront of this receiver class."

Mayock said Hill not only ran and jumped exceptionally well, he looked like a natural pass-catcher.

*Mayock said he was "stunned" to see Baylor WR Kendall Wright, who he thought had DeSean Jackson speed, run a 4.6.

*Mayock felt Temple RB Bernard Pierce didn't have a great day overall and is probably tagged for the fourth round. Pierce ran a 4.49 40.